An Interesting Predicament
by vulcan X
Summary: Sue and Lucy have invited Jack and Myles to dinner. Interesting predicaments! Sue takes matters into her own hands! FINAL CHAPTER ADDED.
1. Chapter 1

An Interesting Predicament

It had been a horrible day. Sue had worked for twelve hours straight trying to figure out what the two suspects on the surveillance tape were saying but to no avail. The others, even Lucy, had left long ago. Levi was asleep at her feet.

"Some strange accent or dialect is screwing this up!" She said to herself. She looked around the silent bullpen until her eyes fell on Jack's neat desk. Unconsciously, she compared it to her own messy one.

"I wonder what he's doing now?" She thought. Jack was away at a briefing session in France. A strange yearning over whelmed her for a moment but she quickly pushed it away. She was not ready to find out why. She leant down and rubbed her hand along the soft fur on Levi's flank. He gave a soft whimper, opened his eyes and shut them again. She smiled gently and focused again on the flickering computer monitor.

Myles was dreaming.

_Lights were flashing all around him, in the sky, on buildings and on large billboards. He seemed to be enveloped in a multicolored fog of loud popping sounds, grating music and …ice cream trucks. There were people, who he could not recognize, streaming past him in every direction. He tried to talk to them but no one would stop. It was then he felt it … a gentle touch on his arm, pulling him, drawing him forward. He could not see who it was. He wanted to see who it was. Suddenly a loud clang caused him to jerk out of her grasp. The bell just kept on ringing and ringing_.

Miles opened his eyes drearily. The telephone's insistent ring seemed to never stop. He lifted the receiver.

"Hello, Myles?" It was Sue's voice.

"Myles?" The voice repeated anxiously.

"This is Myles Leland."

"I'm sorry to phone you so late but I think that I've discovered some important information pertinent to our case … and I'm not sure that it can wait until morning."

FBI training kicked in and Myles was instantly awake.

He sat up. "Start talking, Thomas". He looked at his alarm clock. It was one a.m.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thanks for the reviews, guys! Hope you like this chapter._**

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own any of the characters of the Sue Thomas F B Eye television series.

It was seven a.m. It had been a long but fruitful night.

Myles had come to Sue's aid and had helped her decipher the tricky dialogue. She produced a sentence of the conservation and Myles had used his knowledge of languages to help make sense of the "broken English". Eventually Sue's instincts had been proved right. A secret arms deal was taking place close to the US border! Myles contacted the pertinent department and the very surprised felonshad beencaught!

Sue wearily opened the door to her apartment. She let Levi pad in first and then entered.

"It is a good thing I decided to walk you before we came in, Levi. There is no way you would be able to convince me to go back out. I'm too tired."

Levi gave her a bleary look from the sofa where he was ensconced and then made himself even more comfortable. She refilled his water dish, checked to make sure he had enough food and then tried to decide whether bed or breakfast was of a higher priority.

A light tap on her shoulder made her turn around. ""Hey Sue! Are you just getting in? Did you work all night?" It was Lucy.

"Yes I did and it was a good thing too. I'd explain to you now but I need a shower and coffee first. Fifteen minutes okay?"

"Tell you what", Lucy replied, "You go have a bath. I'll get dressed and then make the coffee."

Sue had a relaxing soak and then half an hour later returned to the small kitchen. Lucy had prepared coffee and there was even fresh toast.

Over breakfast, she described the arduous night to Lucy, highlighting the role that Myles had played.

"And now I've been given the day off." She concluded.

"You know what, Lucy", She continued, "I have a new appreciation for Myles. He may get on everyone's nerves most of the time, ours especially, but when I needed him he came through for me. AND he did it without questioning my abilities. He was very helpful and gentlemanly. His report even gave me most of the credit! Maybe, in the dead of night and when the earth's aligned just so … with the moon and Jupiter, he can be an okay guy." She laughed.

Lucy responded thoughtfully, "Well he does have his moments. If you remember, there was a very very brief period, a long long long time ago, when I did think I was falling for him. But …" She said with a self-conscious laugh, "I sure did learn my lesson, right."

"Anyway," Sue continued. "I've invited him over here tonight for my meatloaf and your fabulous peach cobbler. Make sure that you're not home late."

Lucy gave her a sharp look. "You've done what?" she sputtered.

Lucy was not sure how she felt about this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Sue Thomas F BEye show**.

It was now ten a.m.

Lucy was at her desk and still not sure how she felt about Sue inviting Myles over to their apartment for dinner. Sure, he had been there before with the entire group but, no matter how innocent the intention, she still did not like the idea of him coming over. She walked over to Tara's desk.

"Tara, want to come over to Sue's and my apartment for dinner? I'm making my grandmother's special peach cobbler recipe." She suggested in a casual manner.

"Oooh! Sounds delicious but no can do. I've a blind date tonight and I'm **really** looking forward to it. He's an **assistant professor in mathematics** at Harvard, specializing in **Symbolic Logic**." She rubbed her hands together in glee.

"Rats!" said Lucy, "I mean … that's great! Have a nice time … really."

"Another time? Please?" Tara appealed.

"Maybe we can plan something for next week," Lucy suggested.

She looked around the office. Bobby and D were out on a surveillance assignment with no set time for their return. "But," she thought to herself as her eyes fell on Jack's desk, "Jack will be back this afternoon … Hmmm."

After mentally calculating the time it would take for Jack to exit the plane, make his way through immigration, customs and drive from the airport, she determined that he should **_just_** be able to comfortably get to their apartment in time for dinner … if he could be convinced to.

Quick to act, she returned to her desk and sent the following e-mail:

"_Hey Jack,_

_Long flight from Paris?_

_Too tired to get yourself dinner today?_

_How about a welcoming home-cooked meal at the apartment of Sue Thomas and Lucy Dotson_?

_Sue's making her meatloaf."_

"And now for the clincher", she said to herself. She added. _"P.S. It's important!"_

There's nothing else I can do, she said to herself.

She did not even ask herself why she thought it necessary to go to these extremes.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry for the delay in updating. It was unavoidable.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Sue Thomas F.B.Eye television series**.

Myles was not sure how he liked this situation. He had arrived at Sue and Lucy's apartment precisely at seven p.m. carrying a well-chosen bottle of wine. He had not known that Jack would be there as well but he was glad to see him. In fact he had only accepted the invitation because Sue seemed to think that she needed to thank him and he did not want to disappoint her. He admitted to himself that he had grown to like Sue. She was a diligent agent and a good person. Lucy, on the other hand, had been giving him mean looks all night. He looked at her as she poured the after dinner coffee. She was very tense. He could see this from the way she held her shoulders ramrod straight. He recalled when he would make her relax by gently massaging the muscles at the back of her neck. His fingers curled with the memory of the feel of her warm smooth skin.

"Damn! Darned if I'm here … Darned if I'm not here", he thought to himself. He turned to Jack and started a discussion on the fortunes of the Redskins.

Sue walked in from the kitchen with a plate of cookies and surveyed the scene before her. It had been an enjoyable evening. Jack and Myles were talking football and she could tell from their gesturing that it was a very animated discussion. She thought that Jack looked a little tired but it was nice of him to come over straight from the airport. He had presented her with a little souvenir with a cute slightly embarrassed look on his face. It had given her a warm feeling. Lucy had looked a little strange when she had ushered him into the apartment. In fact she had been edgy all night. She was seated now at the far end of the sofa with a disgusted look on her face. "Was Lucy matchmaking again?" Sue wondered. "Maybe she needs a dose of her own medicine."

She glanced across at Myles. "There does seem to be more to this than meets the eye."

She signed to Lucy: "Too much boy talk. Let's get involved."

She grabbed the Scrabble game and moved closer to the men.

Lucy was sitting at one end of the sofa, musing over the evening. She was annoyed, very annoyed. Primarily, she was annoyed with Myles, well … just for being Myles. But, she was also annoyed with herself for having cajoled Jack to come over at the last moment and then mumbling her way through a scarcely believable excuse. He had given her a strange look then but he did seem to enjoy himself this evening. Sue had taken the news that she had invited Jack over without her knowing, with good humor, very good humor, in fact. Lucy smiled too herself. Maybe she will tease her about that after the guys left. She glanced at Sue. She would deny that there had been glances at Jack all through the evening. "But it would, at the very least, divert attention from my fiasco," Lucy surmised. "Maybe I could move things along… ". She then noticed that Sue was signing to her.

Jack looked up as Sue moved across the room to the sofa.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the Sue Thomas F.B.Eye television series.**

Jack looked up as Sue approached him. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes caught hers and he had to quickly look down again to hide his response. He hoped that his reaction was imperceptible. Being near Sue both exhilarated and calmed him. These conflicting emotions had been occurring more and more recently. This was the reason why he had come to dinner on such short notice and this was the reason he was still here even though he was tired after the long flight from Paris. He hoped he could keep these sentiments well hidden from the rest of the world. He watched her now as she opened and prepared the Scrabble game and then gracefully beckoned them closer. He shook his head as if to clear it and focused on forming his tiles into a word to start the game. An inadvertent glance at Lucy made his choice of the starting word simple. He manipulated the letters allocated to form the word **SCHEME** on the board, saying as he did so:

"The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry".

Never one to back down (one of her favorite maxims as a teenager was "_The best form of defense is offense_"), Lucy decided upon the word **ACTION** with the casual quip to the room "There are many, **_nowadays_**, who are slow to act no matter how important the circumstances". She totaled up her score and then turned to Myles.

"Your turn", she said.

Oblivious to any tensions around him, Myles placed the letters "L" and "A" to form the word: **LEA** and then began to explain the origins of the word. He was summarily interrupted by Sue, whose turn was next. She found that she was just able to form the word: **NOSY**. She placed her tiles on the board with a significant look at Lucy who blushed slightly.

Jack, with a playful smile, used his second turn to organize his tiles into the word **MEDDLE. **Lucy continued the mental sparring with the word **SCARED. **She aimed a mischievous glance at both Sue and Jack.

Myles, who finally realized that there was more to the game than the obvious, announced his intention to create the word **STRATEGY. **He, however, found that he could not and settled for the word **SAD **instead.

After the laughter had died down, Sue had a sudden brainwave. She used her tiles to form the word **YEARN**. She looked directly at Lucy and then raised an eyebrow delicately and glanced deliberately from her to Myles. Lucy looked at her, a shocked look on her face. She glanced at the guys. Myles was busy maneuvering his tiles into different positions but Jack was looking at her. He winked.

Lucy's reaction surprised even herself. She blushed and suddenly jumped up from her seat, mumbling the words "Going to get more cookies". The abrupt action startled the others and even Levi who was lying at her feet. He sprang up and knocked over the coffee table spilling its contents.

"Lookout Jack!" cried Sue and Lucy at the same time.


	6. Chapter 6

_**I appreciate all the comments. Please read and review this the PENULTIMATE chapter**._

**Disclaimer: As before stated, I have no ownership of any of the characters of the Sue Thomas F.B.Eye series**

The coffee table toppled over and the scrabble game board, lettered tiles and ornaments went flying through the air!

As if in slow motion, they watched in dismay as a mug of coffee tilted and emptied its contents all over the front of Jack's shirt. Sue leapt up, ran to get a towel from the kitchen and used it to mop up the fluid on his shirt.

"Luckily, it's only pleasantly warm." joked Jack. Lucy and Myles were doing their best to clear up the spill on the floor and limit damage to the carpet. Jack soon realized however that the agreeable sensation of Sue patting his chest was making him more and more _uncomfortable_. He maneuvered the towel into his own hands and continued the drying process himself with the words: "I'd better continue this. Your carpet is in much more danger."

The inefficacy of this cleaning process made him soon decide that it was best that he go home.

He bade goodbye to Lucy and Myles and was accompanied by Sue to the door where he put on his jacket and turned to her.

"Sorry to break up the party, Sue. I was having a good time."

"I'm glad that you came, Jack." She replied in a concerned voice. She tried to apologize for the damage done to his shirt but he assured her that it was no one's fault.

Maybe it was the glass of wine with dinner or the homey feel of the moment or the look of concern on Sue's face but, as he turned to leave, Jack impulsively moved as if to kiss her goodbye. At that instant, it seemed perfectly right and natural … as if he had always done it. His action startled them both and he quickly jerked back. Embarrassed, he mumbled goodbye. He glanced at her, opened his mouth as if to say more and then stopped himself. He gave her a self-conscious wave before leaving.

Sue closed the door behind him and returned thoughtfully to the living room. She was in a quandary. Did he almost kiss her? Was she sorry that he did not complete the kiss? Did she want him to kiss her? She did not know? Well ... actually she did.

As she walked past the sofa, she noticed Jack's cell phone lying on a cushion. She grabbed it, summoned Levi and rushed after him.

Alone in the apartment, Myles and Lucy were putting the scrabble tiles back into the box when his hand accidentally touched her fingers. Involuntarily, Lucy dropped the game pieces in her hand and jerked back. Myles sat back and watched as she tried to cover up her emotional reaction.

"What's the matter, Lucy?" he asked gently.

Instantly defensive she responded in a gruff manner: "Nothing's the matter! Why would you think that anything's the matter?"

Myles looked at her. He wondered if he had hurt her … again. "You've been tense and edgy all night. Do you resent my being here?" he asked her directly.

She turned away and retorted that she did not.

"You know that you're always welcome here Myles." She added without conviction.

Myles looked up at the ceiling trying to sort things out. He knew Lucy pretty well but this was new. He wanted … no, needed to sort out any element of discord between them. A rare moment of emotional intuition, then he focused on her again.

"Well then ..." he probed, "Are you jealous?" He needed to get to the bottom of this situation.

Lucy's head jerked around. A flash of pain quickly appeared and disappeared in her eyes. She lowered her eyes to the table as she cleaned it.

"Are you crazy?" she challenged. "What would I be jealous of?"

He prodded "That Sue invited **me** to dinner?"

When there was no response, he gently raised her chin with his index finger and looked into her eyes. They looked at each other for a long moment, one head only inches away from the other head … one mouth only inches away from the other mouth.

Myles whispered "I would be glad if you are jealous. I'm jealous all the time."

He waited but still she said nothing.

He revealed: "I'm jealous when you talk to someone else … when you laugh at some one else's joke … even when" he added with a soft smile, "you meddle in someone else's affairs. I'm sorry I hurt you, Lucy. I see you almost every day yet I still miss you."

As if she could take no more, Lucy pulled away and hastened across to stand before the apartment window. She stood there quietly pretending to look out. In the reflection of the glass pane, she saw Myles coming to her.


	7. Chapter 7

_**This is the final chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing this work.**_

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the Sue Thomas F.B.Eye show are not mine!**_

Jack was furious with himself. "How could I be so stupid?" he repeated over and over as he hastened down the staircase. He had given in to the impulse of a moment and had made a mistake. He hoped that Sue would forgive him. She had looked so forlorn at that moment and he had wanted to comfort her. But that was just an excuse, he admitted to himself. Given the right moment, he would have done the same thing but ... this was NOT the right moment and he had surprised her. "No … frightened her! Maybe even revolted her!" he scared himself. He bent to open his car door when he heard someone calling his name. It was Sue. He turned to her, a little breathless.

Sue's heart was racing, perhaps, she thought, from rushing down the stairs. She saw Jack turn to face her. Levi seemed to want to continue his run so she held on to his leash more tightly as she approached Jack.

"You forgot your cell phone." She said to him holding it out in her hand.

Jack looked down at the device but made no move to take it. He opened his mouth.

"Sue, I …"

Guessing at what he was about to say, Sue interrupted him in a playful manner.

"There is a retrieval fee though … you must finish what you started." She looked up into his eyes challengingly.

She was amazed at her own boldness.

Sue could see that Jack was surprised by this turn of events but she could also see the glint of delight in his eyes and the upturn at the corners of his lips.

He moved closer to her.

"Are you sure, Sue?" he asked.

She nodded. "Then at your bidding, m'lady." He said as he bent his head to touch her lips with his own. He pressed even harder as he felt her respond.

"I love you, Sue." He whispered against her lips, knowing that she could not hear it still wanting to say it.

They were suddenly shoved apart by Levi's pushing his way in between them. He wanted to go inside. Jack smiled at Sue and watched her smile back gently in response.

"We're starting something, right?" He asked.

Sue nodded in response, too emotional to speak immediately. Instead she guided Levi to one side, looked into Jack's eyes and mischievously kissed him quickly on the lips again savoring his taste. She whispered "Goodnight" then walked to the door of the house. As she entered the building, she turned to wave goodbye. Jack was still where she had left him, looking after her with an enthralled look on his face. He mouthed to her; "Until tomorrow." She laughed and climbed up the stairway.

Sue rushed upstairs. The happiness inside her wanted to burst out. Even Levi seemed to spring up the treads with more energy. Sue wanted to spend a few quiet minutes alone in her bedroom absorbing these moments before she shared them with Lucy, who she knew would be very happy for her. Heck … Lucy had been trying to push them together for a long time.

She opened the door and went into the apartment, letting Levi enter first. She was thinking up an excuse so that she could leave the others and go to her room when she looked into the living room.

In the far corner, in front of the window, oblivious to the rest of the world, Myles and Lucy were swept up in a deep kiss.


End file.
